PCSOs Jayne Turner and Emma O’Meara were attending an appointment in Melton Avenue when they saw flames rising from a property’s roof and smoke pouring from a first floor window.

The June 27th fire, believed to have started accidentally, spread through the upstairs rooms and cornered Joseph Carter in his bedroom.

Both PCSOs ran inside and pulled the 75-year-old to safety. He was later treated in hospital for facial burns and severe smoke inhalation.

Jayne, who’s been a PCSO for five years, said: “We shouted upstairs and just heard a man’s voice asking ‘what’s going on?’ It was totally black, we couldn’t see a thing, and although we couldn’t see the fire we knew it had really taken hold. It was extremely hot.

“We found Mr Carter near his bedroom door, his hair was on fire and he was clearly suffering badly from smoke inhalation. Between us we carried him down the stairs and out to the front of the house where paramedics helped him.

“I’m delighted he’s on the way to recovery. We were just in the right place at the right time – I certainly don’t feel like a hero!”

Mr Carter was initially in a critical condition in hospital but he’s since improved and is expected to be discharged within a few days.

Solihull Police Superintendent David Walker, said: “It was a very serious fire…without hesitation both Jayne and Emma entered the building and carried the occupant to safety despite significant risk to themselves.

“Paramedics said the officers had saved the man’s life…if he’d remained inside for another minute he would have died at the scene. The actions of both officers can’t be praised highly enough.”

(In the photo: Diane Carter says thank-you to Solihull Police PCSOs Emma O’Meara (front) and Jayne Turner for rescuing her father from the house fire.)

Daughter Diane Carter, who was in the living room at the time and initially unaware of the blaze, thanked both PCSOs for their bravery in rescuing her father.

She added: “It was all very frantic. I heard some cracking coming from upstairs so walked from the lounge and saw smoke wafting down. Then the police officers ran in and seconds later emerged carrying my dad.

“They were very brave going in like they did…the smoke was thick black, choking. They may well have saved his life and I’m eternally grateful.”

My last two blogs have highlighted some extremely brave actions from members of Solihull Police who take a pride in the service they deliver to the Borough and the West Midlands as a whole.

This is a fitting end to my series of blogs; I hope the last ninety-two weeks have provided you with an insight as to what goes on at your local police station, over 15,000 people have read my weekly entries including people logging in from abroad!

For me I am now moving on with the Continuous Improvement Programme and start at another police station in the West Midlands very shortly.

That’s it for this week! And that’s it now for my blog; I will be keeping it live on the internet though for reference purposes but please don’t report anything to the police using this site, use the numbers shown below.

Many thanks

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

PC Grant Naismith and PC Matthew Goodwin placed themselves in two separate dangerous situations where bladed weapons and firearms were used to either threaten members of the public or cause injury to themselves.

On Tuesday 28 December 2010 a call was received from a man in Chelmsley Wood, stating he wanted to be in police custody and that he had broken his bail conditions. A short time later he rang the police again in a distressed state saying he had knives and that he intended to harm himself.

Police officers were dispatched to the man’s address; one of who was PC Naismith. When the officers arrived they found the man in a very distressed state, having taken an overdose of prescribed medication and alcohol. He was highly agitated and in a paranoid state of mind. He also had two 10-inch knives; one held at his chest and the second in his mouth. There was clearly an imminent threat that he would seriously harm himself.

PC Naismith placed himself in the hallway so that he could have sight of the man and encouraged him to talk. This placed PC Naismith in front of the other officers due to the confined space and clearly exposed him to the man should he become a threat to the police.

A tactical option of using a taser device was considered (example shown above) but with the man holding the two knives against his chest and mouth, there would have been the risk of serious injury should he fall on them. PC Naismith kept up the dialogue, building his trust and calming the man’s mental state, which resulted in the man surrendering one of the knives. PC Naismith continued his calm negotiation in what was a very alarming and tense situation.

Finally, not only was PC Naismith able to convince the man to give up the second knife but also to lay face down with his hands on his head, enabling other officers to safely enter the room and secure him in handcuffs. A paramedic was then able to enter the room and assess the man.

Through PC Naismith’s commendable actions the man was calmly taken into police custody and received treatment at a local hospital without any injuries to him or the officers and without the use of force.

On Tuesday 24 August 2010 a robbery occurred in Brueton Park, Solihull where an offender approached an elderly woman and snatched her handbag. When her elderly companion attempted to challenge the offender he produced a pistol and threatened the couple before running off.

PC Matthew Goodwin attended the scene and straight away saw a man fitting the description of the offender that had been circulated – the offender was on foot walking towards Solihull town centre. PC Goodwin got out of his car and began to follow the offender at a safe distance, with the intention to wait until the arrival of armed officers. However, before any assistance arrived the offender got on a bus. At this point PC Goodwin was concerned the situation would escalate, as he understood the offender was in possession of a firearm and that he had already committed one robbery, so PC Goodwin also got on the bus to approach the offender and escort him off to conduct a routine check.

At this time the offender was agitated but compliant. PC Goodwin took possession of the offender’s bag and inside saw the top of a pistol. He remained calm and professional and tried not to show any reaction to the firearm he had seen in the bag. PC Goodwin placed the bag on a bench and took hold of the offender to arrest him on suspicion of robbery. The offender became extremely aggressive and attempted to break free but PC Goodwin managed to hold onto him until further assistance arrived.

During the arrest the offender was also found to be in possession of a four-inch knife and the firearm was found to be an unloaded gas powered pistol.
The offender was charged and later sentenced to eight years imprisonment.

Superintendent Dave Walker (above)  said: “In both incidents, PC Goodwin and PC Naismith remained calm and controlled. They showed immense bravery in putting the safety of the public and colleagues before themselves. I am very proud of them both and am pleased their bravery is rightly being rewarded.”

The awards are to be presented by the Chief Constable at a special awards ceremony taking place in Birmingham.

These are just two examples of the policing that goes on at Solihull; both officers were extremely brave with the only thought of keeping the community and individuals safe.  I hope this has given you a flavour of what your local police do both day and night? 

Well done to Grant and Matt and congratulations on your awards.

That’s it for this week.

Phil

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The digital switchover takes place in the West Midlands from September 2011 and the Digital Switchover Help Scheme has been created to help eligible older and disabled people switch one of their TV sets to digital.

Police have traditionally received reports about offenders gaining access to homes by posing as ‘water board’ or ‘gas officials’, however, there are now concerns about criminals claiming to be Digital Switchover officials.

We are fortunate across Solihull that this type of burglary is a rare occurrence, however, I have no doubt that some criminals may well take advantage of the opportunities the digital switchover presents.

We would like to advise all householders, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, to be extra vigilant and to take all the usual precautions in making sure that anyone they let in to their homes are legitimate and official.

The majority of people taking advantage of the scheme are asked to pay £40 towards the standard option of help the scheme provides, but they will never be expected to pay on the doorstep.

The following information and advice can help you avoid becoming a victim to bogus digital switchover officials:

• Every eligible person to the scheme will receive a letter from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme in the run up to the switchover.
• You will not receive a visit from any representative from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme unless you have responded to the help scheme letter or contacted the helpline.
• The Digital Switchover Help Scheme will send you a letter to confirm the date they will attend your home. If you therefore receive an unexpected visit from anyone claiming to be a switchover representative, please do not let them in.
• The help scheme offers a password system so you do not need to let anyone in to your home without them telling you the password you agreed.
• All switchover representatives carry identification. Please do not be afraid to ask to see this. If they refuse or claim not to have it, ask them to come back with the correct ID.
• You can verify if the caller at your door is official by telephoning the Digital Switchover Help Scheme on 0800 40 85 900.
• If you are at all suspicious please close your door and call Solihull Police on 0345 113 5000.

If you have any concerns about someone acting suspiciously in your neighbourhood please contact Solihull Police on 0345 113 5000.

Finally on a more personal note I leave Solihull Police mid July to help take the Continuous Improvement Project around the force.  I have really enjoyed my time at Solihull where I have been a response team inspector looking after 24/7 policing and a neighbourhood inspector with responsibility for policing  the Solihull Constituency.

I have extremely fond memories of my time here and have met with many members of the local community over the last few years, tackling issues that mean the most to you.  I have also worked with some extremely passionate partnership agencies that really care about the service they offer to the community.

I will certainly maintain this blog until I leave, but after nearly 100 weeks I think the time is right to call it a day as I move onto pastures new.  Social media through Twitter, blogs, Facebook etc are now part of the daily communication used by the police and I am pleased to say that this was the first blog in the West Midlands Police aimed at keeping you up to date on what your local police have been doing; I do hope you have found it interesting and useful?

That’s it for this week

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

The following video will give you an idea as to the resources required to police a football match and also things we have to consider before, during and after the match.

The film focuses on the Wolves v West Bromwich fixture last month and offers fans an unprecedented glimpse of the stadium’s cells and high-tech control room, as well as the officer’s briefing and the role of specialist ‘spotters’ who are responsible for developing intelligence on hooligans.

By filming behind the scenes, we hope to demonstrate the breadth and scope of policing football fixtures.

The new policing structure at Solihull is going well, following implementation of the Continuous Improvement Project on 1st June.  We are now providing staff to see you about matters (that are not an emergency or incidents where we need to see you within an hour) at a time suitable to yourselves through our scheduled responders.  Our 24/7 response officers will be with you for those times when you need us the most; neighbourhood officers are now free to problem solve in their community without the threat of being sent to force commitments for example football matches, protests etc.

If you read my blog regularly, you will have seen a number of appeals for help recently on behalf of the newly formed Investigation Team and Prisoner Handling Team.

I can assure you that the new structure will not affect the values that we strive to work to each and everyday, these being;

• Always put citizens at the heart of everything we do.
• Deliver a first class service all the time.
• Always treat people fairly and with respect
• Better understand the needs of communities by genuinely listening to and engaging with them.
• Deal with the things that matter to local people most.
• Protect our communities from harm.

That’s it for this week.

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

The teams are releasing CCTV images of four men they would like to talk to in connection with the fraudulent use of a cloned card to steal petrol.

The images were taken between 12.10am and 2:00am on 6 April at the Total Fina Elf, Balsall Common where a cloned ‘All Star’ card was used to fuel seven different cars to the total value of £573.

Anyone recognising the men is asked to call Solihull’s PC Donna Fearn in the Investigation Team on 0345 113 5000.

The team is also appealing for witnesses following a robbery in Meriden Park, Solihull on Friday 20 May.

At around 11.30pm three 15-year-old boys were robbed of three mobile phones, cash and a bus pass by three teenagers brandishing weapons, which included a knife and a meat cleaver.

The offenders are described as three black men, aged 16-17 wearing all black clothing and ski masks. One wore a jacket with a red Adidas logo.

Officers believe there were other people in the park at the time who may have witnessed the attack or seen the three offenders sat together on a bench just before the robbery took place. In particular police would like to speak to a couple and a man on a bike seen in the area at the time of the attack.

Witnesses are asked to call PC Craig Munro in Solihull’s Investigation Team on 0345 113 5000.

I will look to release more appeals in the future, if you can help us please contact Solihull Police or you can call Crimestoppers and remain anonymous if you wish on 0800 555 111.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog; that’s it now for this week.

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

The images were taken from security cameras at a business park in Solihull where two businesses were targeted in March.

It is alleged that after forcing the front door to one of the units and getting inside, the man and his accomplices were disturbed and made-off in a white van registration number T782 KAH.

Officers have since linked this van to a string of crimes across the region including the theft of a transit van Aston, copper cabling in Handsworth and £30,000 worth of brass taps in Erdington.

Anyone who can name the man should call PC Keane on 0345 113 5000. Alternatively, people who do not want to speak to police officers directly can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Continuous Improvement with the new changes at Solihull have now been implemented as of 1st June.  The service you receive as I have documented in early blogs will now be delivered, a snap shot is as follows:

We will try to deal with you enquiry at the first point of contact through our Incident Resolution Team, our 24/7 response teams will not carry follow-up enquiries and they will not routinely deal with those people arrested, allowing them to be out on patrol more.  You have dedicated neighbourhood teams that should not be abstracted as a matter of course to force commitments; this will allow them to remain in your community problem solving the priorities you have raised with us.  We have scheduled responders who will see you at a time that is suitable to yourselves and finally a dedicated investigation team that will deal with follow-up enquiries when you report a crime with identified leads and deal with those people who are arrested.

We really need feedback on the service you receive from Solihull Police, this will only help us in the future, so if you do call us I would really be interested in your views.

That’s it for this week.

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

Well it goes to auction and the next public auction of police recovered property will take place at Biddle and Webb, Ladywood Middleway, Birmingham at 10.30am on the first Tuesday of each month

View our policy regarding auctions

Thousands of items will be on sale, including electrical and household goods, tools, gardening equipment and pedal cycles.  These items have been recovered all across the West Midlands.

Catalogues will be available to buy and the sale is open to the public, but all potential buyers must register in advance. Limited parking is available and refreshments will be on sale.

For more information please contact Biddle and Webb on 0121 455 8042.

This is why it is so important to register your property on the web site Immobilise.com, you can find this site by clicking on the link below:

http://www.registermythings.co.uk/

Immobilise.com is a free property registration service used by West Midlands Police that allows you to register all your belongings, so that if they go missing and they come into our possession you are more likely to get them back. This national database is used by West Midlands Police to locate the owners of goods they find and make sure they are returned. The service will cost you nothing but a few minutes on the immobilise website and this time could help your property find its way back to its lawful owner!

That’s it for this week, next week will be a busy week as we go live on 1st June with the new structural set up at Solihull Police Station, through the Continuous Improvement Project that I have mentioned many times in my blog; I will keep you updated on our progress.

Have an enjoyable and safe Bank Holiday weekend.

Phil

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1st June 2011 is go live date and the Command Team at Solihull Police Station along with the Continuous Improvement Team are just finalising plans ready for the launch.

Common sense policing is key to the launch in June and this type of policing has been demonstrated in Solihull on many occasions; a recent example has allowed teenagers to make amends for defacing council property in Shirley. 

Solihull Police caught five teenage lads spraying graffiti on council property.  None of the offenders aged between 12 and 15 years had previously come to the attention of the police, so it was decided between the victim, Solihull Council, and their parents that the most appropriate action would be through a community resolution.

Working with Solihull Council, officers from the Shirley South neighbourhood policing team arranged for the offenders to clean an area within the Shirley neighbourhood that is consistently defaced with graffiti.  The five lads completed their side of the resolution using paint they had bought themselves and re-painted the sidewall of Instone Footwear.

Five young lads will not be criminalised but have learnt a lesson by putting right what they did; do you feel that the response was proportionate?  I do feel that we have done the right thing in this case, the area has been painted without cost to the tax payer and the lads have learnt their lesson.

Graffiti does cause a lot of concern and over the last few years as a Sector Inspector one of the main issues raised to me was this type of offending.  I would be interested to hear your views on how this matter was brought to a conclusion.

That’s it for this week

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

As a team we have been examining local policing systems and processes from the time of taking an initial call from a member of public through to the custody process. The aim being to improve the service for the public while identifying and reducing waste, duplication and inefficiency.

In future, members of the public making non-emergency calls will be offered a scheduled appointment, giving them the option to meet with officers at a time and location to suit them. An appointment system will mean the public are clear about when the police aim to attend, so they are not left waiting for long periods for an officer to become available.

Other changes include a revised help desk, an incident resolution team to handle all calls and where possible deal with that call at the first point of contact, a response team focused on rapid incident response, a larger investigation team dedicated to bringing criminals to court and community priority teams to resolve local community priorities.

Although the dedicated neighbourhood teams will be smaller they will be supported by a Community Action Team that will be tasked to assist the dedicated officers in addressing community priorities and crime trends.  The dedicated teams will be more visible and remain focused on community engagement and problem solving at a local level, including tackling anti social behaviour.

Solihull Police are introducing the new changes on 1 June, before them being rolled out across the force over the next 18 months.

The new way of doing business is built on five key foundations: continuing to keep the public at the heart of everything we do, guaranteed neighbourhood policing, a strong dedicated investigative capability, delivering the right policing response and ensuring the most effective and efficient service possible.

The changes come amid a backdrop of leaner times ahead – with the force facing a funding gap of £125 million over the next four years – alongside a commitment to deliver the best service possible for our communities.

Back to local policing and the team from Kingshurst & Fordbridge raided a house in Kingshurst this weekend – seizing 25 cannabis plants following a tip-off from the public. 

Members of the public told police they suspected cannabis was being grown at an address on Oakthorpe Drive, Kingshurst and that the address was guarded by two dogs.

Police raided the house on Saturday, 7 May with help from the dog team who were able to subdue two rottweilers. There they found that a bedroom in the house was filled with 25 mature cannabis plants. The plants were seized and destroyed.  The electricity meter box had also been tampered with so as to steal electricity to feed the cannabis cultivation 

The owner of the house, a 29-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis and abstraction of electricity. He is currently on police bail pending further enquiries. 

The photograph above shows a cannabis plant similar to that seized at the address.

In this case a tip-off from the public has resulted in the successful closure of a cannabis factory and if anyone has concerns about cannabis cultivation in their community please let us know so we can act on the information.

That’s it for this week, news on the new Solihull structure and community information that led to an arrest.

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies

Working with Solihull Police and Solihull Council is the SPOTTERS (Solihull – Prevention Of Theft Together Ensuring Retail Safety) group; made up of retailers in the town centre, who work in partnership to reduce, prevent and detect retail crime.

(In the photo left to right: PC James Knox, Town Host John Timms, Boots Security Mazar Iqbal, Cotswold Outdoor Leisure Daisy Gaston, Sergeant Kirk Whitehouse and PCSO Steve Richardson)

The retailers signed up to the scheme receive training given by officers that aims to help them tackle shoplifting in their stores. Retailers are also armed with retail radios provided by the police that enable them to communicate with each other on the suspicious activity of individuals and track their footsteps across the town centre.

Sergeant Kirk Whitehouse of the St Alphege neighbourhood policing team said: “To tackle offenders committing crime in the town centre and to protect shoppers, we share intelligence of those offenders regularly committing retail crime with the retailers signed up to the SPOTTERS scheme. In working together we aim to ensure Solihull remains a safe and pleasant place to visit.”

The message is don’t come to Solihull Town Centre if you are intent on committing crime.

Now an update on operation Serve and Protect.  Police in Solihull have made 130 arrests across the Borough in the first month of the new forcewide operation.

Serve and Protect was launched on Saturday 2 April to further reduce crime and focus on known criminals.

The operation sees officers across the Borough making regular checks on those who have curfew conditions and arresting anyone who has breached their curfew.

Known offenders are being actively managed and those wanted for offences or on recall to prison are being pursued.

Nine people have been arrested in the last week (25 April-3 May), for offences including burglary, robbery, theft of motor vehicles and taking without consent.

These arrests have partly been the result of automatic number plate check operations (ANPRs), where specialist scanning software is used to ‘read’ number plates and check them against a database of wanted and stolen vehicles.

Some have also been as a result of the execution of two fail to appear warrants and one search warrant.

Since the operation began, officers have also made 17 multi-agency referrals, where offenders have been referred to drug diversionary programmes and other rehabilitation schemes in the town.

Local officers have also carried out 266 follow-up personal visits to people who have reported incidents of anti-social behaviour across the borough.

DI Neil Thomas regularly tweets updates on the operation. You can follow him at twitter.com/DIWestMidsPol

You can follow Operation Serve and Protect across the force on Twitter over the coming months by searching for #serveprotectwmp.

That’s it for this week

Phil

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If you need to report a crime, call 999 in an emergency or 0345 113 5000 for non-emergencies